CHHAJJA SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A loan of Rs. 2000/- was raised by one Shangara Singh for the purpose of sinking a well in his land in village Dehana, Tehsil Garhshankar, District Hoshiarpur under the Land Improvement Loans Act XIX of 1883 (hereinafter called the Act). Chhajja Singh, petitioner stood surety for repayment of the loan. A document was executed by the borrower as well as by the petitioner (hereinafter referred to as the surety) for repayment of a sum of Rs. 2800/- (including the amount of the loan and interest thereon) in 20 equal biannual instalments of Rs. 140/- each commencing with the harvest of 1957. Each instalment had to be repaid with the first instalment of the land revenue in respect of the particular harvest.

(2.) The surety has filed this writ petition on the allegation that he had not become a surety for the repayment of the amount and that in any case a warrant for the payment of Rs. 2000/- (alleged in the writ petition to be the whole amount of the loan and interest due thereon) could not have been issued against him according to law. The claim of the petitioner is that recovery proceedings could, if at all, be taken against the surety only for the amount of overdue instalments and not for the whole amount.

(3.) The only other contention raised by the petitioner is that under Section 7 of the Act, the Collector was bound to exhaust all his remedies against Shangara Singh and his property which had been charged with the loan before embarking upon the recovery proceedings against the surety.